Normal life hit across Karnataka as transport unions strike work

New Delhi, Feb 21: A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court challenging the sedition case registered against a Karnataka school management for allegedly allowing students to stage an anti-CAA, anti-NRC drama that 'portrayed Prime Minister Narendra Modi in poor light'.

The petition seeks quashing of the FIR against the principal and other staff of the Shaheen School at Bidar who have been booked under sections 124-A (sedition) and 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups) of the Indian Penal Code.

In the petition filed on Thursday, social activist Yogita Bhayana has also sought an apex court direction for a proper mechanism to deal with alleged government misuse of the sedition law.

Section 124A of the IPC says that "whoever brings or attempts to bring into hatred or contempt, or excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards... the Government shall be punished with imprisonment for life...".

Bhayana, in the plea, has sought a direction to the Centre and the Karnataka government "to quash the FIR registered in connection of seditious charges against the school management, teacher and a widowed parent of a student for staging a play criticizing CAA, NRC, and NPR."

The petition claimed the police "also questioned students, and videos and screenshots of CCTV footage showing them speaking to the students were shared widely on social media, prompting criticism."

It further quoted the school principal, alleging that "on one occasion, police in uniform questioned students, with no child welfare officials present".

The plea said that the "proceedings were violative of Article 21 (right to life and personal liberty) of the Constitution and abuse of process of law."

"Issue an order directing the Centre to constitute a committee to scrutinise complaints under 124-A IPC and adhere to judgments by the apex court before registering the FIR under the section 124-A IPC," the petition said.

The drama was staged on January 21 by students of fourth, fifth and sixth standard.

The sedition case was filed based on a complaint from social worker Neelesh Rakshyal on January 26.

The complainant has alleged that the school authorities "used" the students to perform a drama where they "abused" Modi in the context of the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens.

Mangaluru, Jun 3: A banner that read "Veer Savarkar Flyover Pumpwell" surfaced on the sidewall of the Pumpwell flyover in Mangaluru on Tuesday night.

It is suspected that activists of Bajrang Dal put up the controversial banner. Though it was removed later, it sparked debates on social media and photos of it went viral.

The development comes amid the controversy over the naming of a flyover at Yelahanka in Bengaluru after Savarkar.

A Hindutva ideologue, Savarkar has tendered apology to British imperialists and pledged to support them following his arrest during India’s freedom movement.

Bengaluru,  Jun 19: Following the coronavirus outbreak, Bengaluru's Kempegowda International Airport has introduced ultraviolet treatment while scanning outbound baggage apart from other measures to enhance passenger and staff safety.

"Two custom-designed UV tunnels have been created to disinfect trolleys after every use. Two custom-designed UV tunnels have been created to disinfect trolleys after every use. These Tunnels are located at a cordoned-off area of the Terminal," according to a statement by the Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL).

The airport plans to use an ultra-low volume (ULV) spray treatment for check-in bags: all outbound passenger baggage is sanitised before dispatch to the aircraft

Authorities also plan to minimise use of additional trays for footwear by introducing specially designed trays; the trays that are in use are UV treated and sanitised manually after every use.

Officials are currently in the process of implementing silver nano-coating for frequently used touchpoints for self disinfection like check-in counters, Immigration counters, ATRS trays, etc. Currently, sanitisation of high-traffic areas and frequently touched surfaces continues to be done every thirty minutes manually without disrupting the flow of passengers.

All high-traffic areas are sanitised once every three hours by using ULV machines - eight times in 24 hours.

Washrooms across the Airport premises are sanitised on a regular basis with dedicated manpower, irrespective of the frequency of use. 456 units of tabletop hand sanitiser and 107 units of sensor-based hand sanitisers have been placed across the Terminal.

120 biowaste bins located across the Airport campus enable passengers and staff to dispose of their masks, gloves and other PPE conveniently and safely. This bio-waste is managed by a dedicated team and handed over to a Pollution Control Board-approved vendor and taken away for incineration.

The Airport said that the passenger feedback for the contactless process has been positive. "The objective of the process is to minimise physical contact and enhance passenger throughput," it said.

These sanitisation measures come in light of the highly infectious COVID-19 pandemic which spreads through person-to-person contact. Small droplets from the nose or mouth can spread the virus when they land on objects and surfaces around the person.